By Tony Marson, EAN Secretary General
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It is a pleasure to be writing to you for the first time as EAN Secretary General, with a general update on membership issues.
First of all, I am delighted to announce that we have streamlined the application process for full EAN membership for members of national neurological societies who are currently Associate Members. As Associate Members are certified neurologists, whose status has already been confirmed through membership of their national neurological society, we have removed steps in our application process, meaning confirmation will be received much faster than before.
I am also pleased to say that the call for EAN membership renewal is now open. Our new online renewal system, introduced last year, allows you to renew your EAN membership quickly and easily via your myEAN profile, so I encourage you to renew straight away. The deadline is the end of the year, but there is no time like the present. If you are not sure which membership category to apply for, please consult our membership packages overview.
Individual EAN membership —which applies to Full Members, Student Members, Resident & Research Members, Corresponding Members, and Fellows of EAN— comes with a large range of benefits that we are always looking to expand. We have added several new benefits over the last year, many of which have been aimed exclusively at students, but the largest new benefit is for everyone: the EAN Campus. Launched at our annual congress in June, the EAN Campus is a new innovative platform for eLearning in Neurology, with content ranging from basic, to advanced, to expert levels. The platform is constantly being updated with new material, so I urge EAN members at all stages of their careers to have a look; I am confident all of you will find something useful.
The benefits we have added for students demonstrate the EAN Board’s committment to engaging with students and including them in our activities. Firstly, student members now have the opportunity to join the EAN Scientific & Coordinating Panels. Often referred to as the organisation’s ‘scientific backbone’, the Panels have a hand in everything the EAN does from a scientific point of view, including coordinating clinical research, disseminating good practice, assisting in planning the EAN annual congress, supporting the EAN’s educational efforts, and producing guidelines that assist neurologists in daily practice. By joining, EAN Student Members will get direct insight into the multifaceted work of the panels and the EAN in general and will be invited to join the annual business meeting of the panels during the EAN Congress.
Secondly, students are now able to submit abstracts for the EAN Annual Congress, providing an opportunity to apply for the bursary and to take part in the tournament, should their abstract be accepted. Thirdly, we have introduced a Students Corner on EANpages, providing a space and opportunity for students’ voices to be heard.
I would also like to highlight some of our longer-running initiatives exclusive to EAN individual members with deadlines or application periods opening in the near future:
- Following a successful first run in 2022, the EAN Science School will take place for the second time in March 2023. The overarching theme will be ‘Tools to predict and improve outcomes of neurological disorders’ and the application deadline is Friday, 14 October 2022.
- For 2023, five additional Clinical Fellowships will be made available to members of the EAN Resident & Research Fellow Section from Ukraine to support 6-12 weeks in another European neurological department. Application for this is already open and will close on 31 October.
- Application will be open for the next EAN Spring School from 1 December to 31 January. Taking place at Steinschaler Dörfl, Austria, on 17-21 May. This school is a great learning and networking opportunity for clinical neurologists in training who have not yet completed their residency or clinical speciality training.
- Application for the 2023 Student Teaser Fellowship programme will be open from 1 February to 31 March. This fellowship gives medical students the chance to gain insight into general neurology or in a specific area of interest while still doing their medical studies. We recently received reports from some of the very first participants of this programme in 2022.
In addition to all of these opportunities, EAN individual members also receive access to the online content of our annual congress free of charge, both during and after the event, and can register for the onsite congress at greatly reduced fees. Access to the Virtual Congress Platform also extends far beyond the duration of the congress; in fact, content from EAN 2022 is still available to stream on demand right now, including a Special Skills session on rules of holistic leadership.
Finally, I would like to remind everyone that Full & FEAN members are eligible for a 10% discount on their article processing charge for publishing OnlineOpen in the European Journal of Neurology. If you are submitting a paper to our official journal, please be sure to contact membership@ean.org to receive your discount code.
As usual, the EAN Board and all our committees are working hard on new projects and initiatives on behalf of and for EAN Members, so please keep an eye on your inbox, EAN.org, and our various social media channels to keep up to date with the latest announcements.
With best wishes for a pleasant autumn,
Tony Marson
EAN Secretary General
